VW has presented the I.D. Concept as its first major entry in electric vehicles with an affordable long-range option to compete with the Tesla Model 3.
In a somewhat surprising move, the German automaker has allowed some media outlets to drive the wobbly show car they used to unveil the concept last year.
When automakers unveil new concepts, they generally don’t let anyone test drive them unless they have produced alpha/beta prototypes or sometimes even not until they get to pre-production.
In the case of VW’s I.D. Concept, which is not expected to hit the market until 2020, it can tell you something about the company’s attempt to drum up hype around the car if they are willing to set the expectations with this show car.
In this short test drive by Alex Goy from Carfection, you hear the vehicle cracking when driving at low speeds. Nonetheless, it’s still the best look we got so far at what VW is setting up to be its next flagship EV:
It will also be the first VW EV built from the ground up to electric and not just a converted gas-powered car like the e-Golf.
VW claims that it will have a NEDC-rated range of “400 to 600 km” (~250 to 375 miles) depending on the battery pack configuration.
Before even unveiling the concept last year, VW announced that it would beat the Model 3 and X in electric range by misrepresenting the NEDC-rated range of the Model 3. In a presentation, it pinned the two vehicles against each other even though they are both unreleased yet and they are planned to be released 3 years apart.
When it will be brought to market in 2020, it will be built on Volkswagen’s new modular electric platform and the body will be about ‘Golf-size’. Furthermore, the German automaker is teasing a price competitive with the Tesla Model 3 around $30,000.
I wouldn’t be surprised if VW is successful in creating hype around the car, but I wouldn’t expect the production version to look anything like what we are seeing today.
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